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Before High Noon, Unforgiven, and True Grit, there was a wilder, wider West on film. Treasures from the American Film Archives: Volume 5: The West (1898-1938), is a 10-hour set celebrating the dynamic, gender-bending, ethnically diverse West that flourished in early movies but has never before been seen on video.

Treasures 5 presents the American West as it was recorded and imagined in the first decades of motion pictures. Among the 40 selections are Mantrap (1926), the wilderness comedy starring Clara Bow in her favorite role; W.S. Van Dyke’s legendary The Lady of the Dugout (1918), featuring outlaw-turned-actor Al Jennings; Salomy Jane (1914), with America’s first Latina screen celebrity Beatriz Michelena; Gregory La Cava’s sparkling Old West–reversal Womanhandled (1925); Sessue Hayakawa in the cross-cultural drama Last of the Line (1914); one-reelers with Tom Mix and Broncho Billy, Mabel Normand in The Tourists (1912), and dozens of other rarities.

Treasures 5 showcases both narrative and nonfiction films. In addition to early Westerns, fascinating actuality films abound: travelogues from 10 western states including Seeing Yosemite with David A. Curry and the Fred Harvey Company’s The Indian-Detour; Kodachrome home movies; newsreels about Native Americans; and documentaries and industrial films about such Western subjects as cattle ranch-ing in Santa Monica, riding the rails along the Columbia River, how vaqueros made horsehair ropes, the birth of the canned fruit industry, and the beginning of the water wars. There are even vivid docudramas by crime-fighting lawmen: Bill Tilghman restaging his capture of the Wild Bunch and a Texas sheriff reliving his fight against ammunition smuggling on the Mexican border. For full list of films, visit the NFPF Web site, www.filmpreservation.org.

The motion pictures are drawn from the preservation work of the nation's foremost early film archives of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Archives, and UCLA Film & Television Archive—and include movies recently repatriated from the New Zealand Film Archive. Many of the films have not been screened in decades. None has been available before in high-quality video.

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The Treasures from American Film Archives series has been a real gift to anyone interested in the history of movies. Treasures, More Treasures, Avant-Garde and Social Issues volumes are now joined by a fascinating collection of early films of the West. They include the Clara Bow feature "Mantrap," which shows why she was the sex symbol of her era; several films featuring the people involved reconstructing their roles (Oklahoma outlaw Al Jennings, Texas sheriff Buck, and the legendary Bill Tilghman with Chris Madsen and E.D. Nix, among others); comedies, travel shorts, and many other rare delights, some in color, are included.

This wonderful collection includes an almost pristine print of Mantrap starring the magnificent Clara Bow. What a great movie!! I can't overstate how much better this print of the 1926 Victor Fleming classic is than the other versions that were available before this release. With this and the recent Blue Ray edition of Wings, one can begin to appreciate the subtle, timeless art of an American treasure, Clara Bow.

All the films restored here are of interest , but the prize of the whole dvd set was the great print of Clara Bow's "Mantrap". This print, found outside the U.S. is, as I know it, the best print found of this title. Let's hope more of Miss Bow's movies can be found and restored to Blu Ray. I'm still hoping they find her 1930 talkie "Her Wedding Night" and release it on Blu Ray. I think that would create great excitement among movie collectors.

These old, historical films, are very enlightening & can stand on their own as entertainment & as a silent film history of the growth of the American West, at a time when the Native Americans, our indigenous population was still regarded as just amusing "savages" whose lost & destroyed culture was obliverated by the invading European settlers. These old films are a real eye-opener for today's average schmuck, like me. I wish I had had these to show some of my students, after teacing for the last 30 years! What an awakening that would have been!!! Saludos

What a wonderful set this is. These are films that are pure gems showing the early history of the American Western film. They have been restored so you end up with great quality films. I've read all the descriptions of the films and they help to understand the attitudes of that time in US history. Seeing as the films are short, you can watch just a few each day or have a Western movie marathon. I'm glad to see a few of the films came from my hometown Eastman House Archives.

Fantastic look at the early 1900's western United States and how it was depicted on film. Man Trapped with Clara Bow is a pristine print that shows the first real glimpse of how high this actress would rise in silent films. Womanhandled with Richard Dix is a great film, though not complete, you get the feel for what a gem this film was. Interesting look, in early color, of how the canned fruit industry was established in the west. Every entry in this offering is outstanding.

I have two other sets of Treasures. Any American history buff or movie history enthusiast absolutely must watch these offerings. From commercials to full-story silents, these pieces are well worth the expense. Take your time viewing the discs.

A compendium of historic films and footage all centered around the theme of the West of yore. Great images, super commentary; if you are a film buff you will love it. Like a coffee table book with moving images- Nice!